The United States of America has banned the owners of Nigeria’s Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland from dealing with any U.S. person.
The United States Department of Treasury said in a statement that it has frozen all property and assets owned by Fauzii Fawad, Mustapha Fawaz and Abdallah Tahini.
All three men were also earlier named by the Joint Task Force, Kano, as members of a Lebanese Hezbollah group in Nigeria.
The U.S. Department of Treasury said the trio and their companies have been issued Executive Order 133224 for acting for or on behalf of Hezbollah, a Lebanese group.
A U.S. Executive Order 12947 of January 1995 listed Hezbollah as a Specially Designated Terrorist, while the Department of State designated Hezbollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997 and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in October 2001.
“As these designations make clear we will track Hezbollah’s illicit activities to all corners of the earth.
“Together with our international partners, we are tirelessly working to dismantle Hezbollah’s financial apparatus. Wherever this terrorist group may seek to raise funds, we will target and expose its activity,” the statement said.
Wonderland is Abuja’s biggest and most popular amusement park, while Amigo is one of the largest supermarkets in the Nigerian capital.
In May, 2013, the Joint Task Force in Kano said Fawad’s name was mentioned by three Lebanese arrested for being in possession of heavy weapons, and other terrorism related activities.
Fawad and three other Lebanese – charged for terrorism and alleged importation of firearms were arrested by a JTF raid in Kano in May, 2103.
They were charged to court but were later free after a Court in Karu, an Abuja suburb, stuck out the suit following an application by the prosecutor, Cliff Osagie.
According to the U.S., Fauzi is a Hezbollah Foreign Relations Department official in Abuja. The department scouts for recruits for the Hezbollah’s military units, creates and supports Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure for its operational units in Africa and globally.
Messrs. Fawad and Fauzi are co-owners of Amigo Supermarket Limited, holding a combined 70 per cent ownership share, and are both listed as a Director.
They also hold combined 100 per cent interest in Wonderland Amusement Park, with Mr. Fawad as Managing Director.
The duo also own Kafak Enterprises Limited, a holding company operating in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. They are the Managing Directors of this entity.
The third Lebanese listed, Tahini, is said to have received military training in Lebanon and described as a permanent representative of the Hezbollah Foreign Relations Department
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